Hasbro has denied the claims made by the widow of a toy inventor who says her husband created the hit board game The Game of Life.

Last year, Lorraine Markham sued the global toy maker, claiming that her husband Bill had invented the game in 1959 and that she was owed $2million or more in royalties.

She said that her husband had struck a deal with another toy inventor, but Hasbro had taken credit for the concept, denying him his legacy.

However, in its first response to the lawsuit, Hasbro denied that Markham created or designed the game and said that his widow has no ownership interest in it. The firm went on to say n court papers that it owns copyrights and other intellectual property rights to the game and its packaging, not Markham.

Hasbro has now countersued, asking a federal judge to declare that it owns the rights to the game that has sold more than 30 million copies, and asking for attorney’s fees.

Meanwhile, the other toy inventor Reuben Klamer has said that he is the sole creator of the game and hired Markham to make the game board.

According to Klamer, Markham only made a prototype to which he then made significant revisions before delivering it Milton Bradley, the firm that has since been absorbed by Hasbro.

Markham’s lawyer, Lou Solomon, said that for years Hasbro had acknowledged that her husband created the game.

“It’s sad that a big company can try to outspend an inventor of such a valuable game,” said Solomon.

Consumers can collect and send their pre-owned Hasbro toys and games to TerraCycle, who will recycle them into materials that can be used in the building of play spaces, flower pots, park benches and more.